PSoTD

I think it was the summer of 1970, when I was 11 years old, that I finally became a Cincinnati Reds fan. Before then I was a mix, and the summer of 1969 I was a Cubs fan, but then the collapse hit, and my family began to stew in the pressure drop that Santo, Kessinger, Williams, Jenkins and company took that year. We lived in Muncie, Indiana, and at the time a kid in Muncie might be a fan of just most any Midwest team - Reds, Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Tigers... hell, some even rooted for the Indians, which seemed to stink every year in the 1960s.

I went to two games at Crosley and a few more at Riverfront. My strongest memories of Crosley are of my Dad eating Polish Sausages and cicadas or locusts or grasshoppers or something that swarmed the ballpark one day we were there. Oh, and picture day with the Reds.

In 1970 I began to listen to ballgames on the radio. My friend Jeff across the street was a big Reds fan too, and we would ride our bikes up to the Village Pantry convenience store and buy baseball cards and trade duplicates of Reds players. I still have some of those.

Below is a list of my favorite Reds, by position. You'll see that the Big Red Machine dominates my favorites of the Reds, by position.

1B - Lee May
He was gone to Houston for Joe Morgan before the "dynasty" really started clicking, but he was always a favorite of mine of the 1970s teams. My friend Jeff had his picture taken with him, I think, and he was Jeff's favorite player, and so he became one of mine.

2B - Joe Morgan
The straw that stirred the drink for the Big Red Machine when it started cranking. He's a lousy baseball announcer, but man, he was fun to watch play.

SS - Woody Woodward
Sorry, Dave and Barry. I know, I know, I'm a sucker for those underhitting workmanlike players. When I was a kid, I kept thinking Woody was going to get the starting job next year, he always seemed to perform when I was watching. Ha. Still a favorite, though.

3B - Buddy Bell
The 1980s team was fun, also, until Pete Rose's gambling really mucked it up for everyone. Buddy was probably the best fielding third baseman the Reds had for around 30 years or more, even though he came to the club past his fielding prime. Was always a good bat for the team as well.

OF - Eric Davis
Darryl Strawberry wishes he was Eric Davis. I wish Davis hadn't have gotten hurt so many times, I think he would have snagged an MVP, and maybe have a HOF career. Regardless, the man played the game with intensity.

OF - Frank Robinson
HOF. Didn't take shit from nobody.

OF - Vada Pinson
The other early 1960s hitter on the team. I was tempted to put Bernie Carbo or Bobby Tolan here, but I just like Pinson's statistical performance. That's really about all I know about him, but I know it pretty well.

C - Johnny Bench
My favorite player of alltime. I don't know why, there was just something that clicked between Bench's magical 1970 season. And I remember that clutch playoff homer he hit against the Pirates in the NL championships, one of the first times I actually jumped with jubilation over a home run at home watching the baseball game. There have been other times, but that is one of my favorite home runs of ALL TIME.

SRP - Jim Maloney
Had many good seasons for the Reds, then hurt his arm. Every season I would think, this is the year Maloney brought it back. Never really happened, but still, the guy was great.

SLP - Don Gullett
Clutch pitcher for the Machine.

RRP - Wayne Granger
I remember when Granger set the appearance record for the National League. He was a damn good reliever at the time, but then it slipped and he was gone before the Reds hit their groove in the mid 70s. Still, for a short period, he was the 9th inning man.

RLP - Joe Nuxhall
He's actually here mostly for his radio announcing. I listened!

Manager - Sparky Anderson
How can you help but love this guy? Tiger fans know what I mean.

Reds fans will notice some glaring omissions. Where's Pete? Sorry, Rose was never one of my favorites, and I hate what he did as manager to the 1980s teams when they actually contenders. Where's Big Doggie, Tony Perez? I always thought that Lee May may have ended up as a Hall of Famer if the Reds had traded Perez instead in the deal with the Astros.

Who was close to making the list? Fred Norman as left handed pitcher - I know his stats are average but he always seemed to pitch a big game when we needed it. Mario Soto - I wish the Reds had been good when he was pitching, he deserved better on the diamond. It was an impossible task but in an easier choice Lou Piniella might have been selected for the 1990 magic. Oh, and then there was Wayne Krenchicki... nah, not even close.

Today's question of the day:

In your preparations for a long Sunday afternoon of football allegiance to the television, what are your food and beverage requirements?

Which of these Cris Carter NFL predictions seems most likely to tank this season?

With the way the NFL is these days, parity isn't even discussed anymore. You know there's going to be parity this season. But there will be four elite teams – teams that will win 12 to 13 games – and those teams will be the Colts and Jets in the AFC and the Eagles and Vikings in the NFC.

Here's a hint: he played for them most of his career.

Joe DiMaggio didn't have the most flattering post-baseball legacy as a pitchman for Mr. Coffee, but the Splendid Splinter has fared much worse as "the most famous decapitated person of the modern era". In the latest indignity, sculptor Daniel Edwards has fashioned replica Ted Williams' death masks into a modern art exhibit.

Using photographs of Williams taken when he was alive, [Edwards] reproduced the grim, slightly pained look of the Williams heads: eyes mostly closed, mouths slightly open, hair combed back. Each one, the centerpiece of a discrete work, is tilted at a slightly different angle. All are designed to remind fans of displays of baseball memorabilia, although decidedly more macabre than a Barry Bonds home-run ball.

One head sits beside a copy of a 1941 issue of Life magazine with Williams the vibrant, smiling cover subject in the season that he hit .406.

In a second, the head rests beside a pair of 1950's baseball cleats (not Williams's) that are partially covered by a blue baseball cap made by Mr. Edwards to look as if it came from Alcor.

The most ambitious and frolicsome work places the head on a plaster base, giving it what Mr. Edwards called a "head on a platter" look. The chin rests on a ball signed by Williams, while in the background, a headless mannequin torso is wearing a Boston road jersey with Williams's name and the number 9 on the back.

Gruesome.

New Orleans is a test for all other cities to watch.

With this year's Super Bowl designated a National Security Special Event by the Office of Homeland Security, the federal role in coordinating the NFL's championship game is stronger than ever. The Secret Service will coordinate the security for Super Bowl XXXVI, bringing an array of federal resources including military aircraft and National Guard troops to the effort. In addition, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is overseeing the Super Bowl's emergency evacuation procedures.

Again...

How many troops were "leaning forward" and where were they?

Did the emergency evacuation route consider the possibility of terrorist activity on the levees.

From MySanAntonio.com:

Katrina relocated the Saints not for the month or even the season. All indications suggest the franchise will permanently move to another city within two years.

But what happens over the next few weeks should not be part of that. Tom Benson should make sure his Saints play as close to their fan base as possible, and he should cut prices and donate profits, and he should try to create a post 9-11 Yankees atmosphere.

San Antonio should follow. The Alamodome should be made available, but not as a lure.

The last thing anyone should do is turn this hellish crisis into a business deal that resembles major-league looting. And San Antonio has every incentive not to.